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The night market near the venue is almost packed with people. Most of those who have just finished watching the match are likely to invite friends for a few beers, passionately discussing their experiences in the game and what they saw in the competition.

Zhongqing thought about how Sun Xiang is still a professional player, so she found a barbecue shop and bought a bag of skewers, casually eating them while strolling down the street.

"I say, are you really not considering having a PK with me?" Sun Xiang asked, holding two-thirds of the skewers he had taken from Zhongqing, which were heavily spiced.

When he asked this, the streetlight reflected a silvery gleam off his ear studs, and the slight provocation in his raised brows felt like a full ten points.

"How can you be so obsessed with this PK thing? Do I look like someone who carries an account card when I go out?" Zhongqing tugged at her pocket; she didn't look like a typical girl at all, having come out without a bag, just her phone and keys in her pocket.

Sun Xiang almost choked again.

He almost wanted to say that he had brought his account card, but then he thought about how the two cards in his bag were named "Horizontal Blade" and "Horizontal Gun," and they didn't include an Elemental Mage—what kind of situation was that?

He could only vent his frustration about not finding anyone to PK on the barbecued skewers he bought.

"Alright, let's find an opportunity in a few days," Zhongqing said casually.

The ripple effect of this offline competition was not small in her heart.

To be honest, she felt that sometimes she had a bit of a short attention span for certain things, like her initial career in architecture and the games she had abandoned in her game reviews. But Glory was different.

She was very clear that when Jiang Botao finally filled the pit and let the team,轮回, win, the heartbeat in her chest was stronger than the cheers of victory surrounding her. She should really love Glory, at least much more than the satisfaction she felt when completing character strategies.

Who wouldn't say that the character being strategized was in for a rough time?

Understanding this, Zhongqing felt that she might need to speed up her pace a bit.

The summer break had already begun; although the semifinals wouldn't start for a few days, only four teams were still in the competition.

She didn't want to start directly from the training camp, and clearly, there wasn't much time left for her to make choices or stand out.

Compared to relying on memories from a few playthroughs to join a team that could accommodate her, she wanted to experiment with something irreplaceable after already seeing the reality that was different from the strategy games.

She came up with a rather strange idea.

"You're not trying to trick me again, are you?" Sun Xiang looked at her suspiciously as she suddenly changed her mind.

Even though they hadn't known each other for long, Sun Xiang felt that the other person had too many tricks up their sleeve, always able to guess when he would believe the excuses crafted when she was trying to con him. The number of times he had typed "scammer," "!" and "?" in the past few days was more than he had in the whole previous year.

When Sun Xiang was about to decide to rush over to see what she looked like, he did have a bit of an impulse for a PK, but the person in front of him was nearly a head shorter than him, and considering the dinner he was treated to—

Sun Xiang felt he could be a bit more forgiving.

"There's no benefit in tricking you with that," Zhongqing said, brushing her hair blown by the night wind. "Who wins or loses isn't certain."

"????" Sun Xiang wanted to take back his previous thought.

"Alright, I'll head off first. You should go back and get some rest, too."

Sun Xiang could afford to book a hotel near the venue, but she didn't have that extra money for transportation. She waved her hand as she walked toward the subway station but suddenly heard the boy behind her shout foolishly, "Wait, I still haven't asked your name!"

How has a silly, sweet guy like Sun Xiang made it this far?

But Zhongqing was too lazy to think about it; after all, this kid would still be silly for at least another two years.

[Horizontal Blade] I'm taking the train back today!

[zq] Isn't that obvious?

[Horizontal Blade] I mean, I can PK tonight!

[zq] I have an interview today; if I pass, we'll talk.

She had woken up a bit earlier than usual today, so by the time she typed this message, she was already standing at the entrance of the轮回 club.

Of course, she wasn't there to join the轮回 team but rather for the online gaming guild department.

While watching the match yesterday, she noticed the promotional information posted outside the轮回 venue, mentioning the summer recruitment of temporary members for the guild in the game. Unlike the elite team online, the offline members clearly had less freedom, including repeatedly farming rare materials and hidden instances, ensuring they filled several accounts each week for the hundred-person group instances, and, more importantly, participating in wild boss fights.

If she waited until her own account reached max level, got a decent set of equipment, and accumulated enough guild contributions to enter the elite team's higher ranks, she feared she wouldn't have much time left to decide.

She had always been a person of action and liked to take the initiative.

"Are you here to apply for the summer intern position in the guild department?" The receptionist, a guy at the front desk, looked at the girl with suspicion.

She took off her mask and sun hat, revealing a face that didn't quite look like someone who would come to work as a lackey.

This face seemed more suited for magazine shoots than coming here to work.

"Is that not allowed?" Zhongqing pointed to the promotional brochure displayed on the front desk. "As long as I can prove I have the strength to join the elite team in the game, right?"

"The stairs are on your right; go up to the second floor and find the sixth room. You can talk to the guild leader there." The receptionist still didn't quite believe that this girl was here to apply. After all, she was dressed in a deep blue outfit that emphasized the coldness in her expression, looking nothing like the fans who claimed they were there to work but were really trying to run into team members.

"Thanks." Zhongqing didn't plan to waste any more time and walked straight in the direction the receptionist indicated.

However, it turned out she arrived a bit too early. In the room the receptionist mentioned, there wasn't the轮回 guild leader, Sanjie Liudao, but a slightly younger guy. When he saw someone come in, he was taken aback.

When he saw that the person entering was a girl he didn't know, he was even more surprised.

Then he jumped up from his seat as if he had been shocked.

"Uh... who are you looking for?"

"I'm here to apply for the summer job," Zhongqing replied, raising the advertisement she had casually taken from the front desk. "When will Sanjie Liudao be here?"

"How do you know I'm not him?" The young man asked, a bit curious.

Zhongqing couldn't exactly tell him that she recognized him because she had followed Ye Xiu to轮回 to sell skill point strategies in a previous loop. She had seen almost everyone in the technical department, even if she couldn't name them. Sanjie Liudao had been to the technical department, so she naturally wouldn't forget his face.

As for who this young man was, she had an idea.

"Can you decide whether I can get the job or not?" She replied, throwing a question back at him since she couldn't explain her previous one.

He actually could.